Multiple Peoria gas stations blocked off by law enforcement as investigation underway
PEORIA – Several area gas stations were being cordoned off by local police Wednesday, but the Peoria Police Department is referring any questions on the investigation to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
"Our Bureau of Criminal Investigations conducts investigations of potential violations of the Illinois tax laws and related offenses and, if warranted, refers the matter for criminal prosecution. The Illinois Department of Revenue cannot comment on the status of ongoing investigations, however, or even acknowledge their existence due to confidentiality provisions in the tax laws," said IDR spokeswoman Maura Kownacki in response to a question from the Journal Star.
When asked for more detail, she declined to comment, and referenced the statement she had already given out.
At least four area gas stations, all with Shell branding, had officers standing in parking lots, with squad cars blocking the entrances. Yellow tape covered crisscrossed pumps at some of the stations. When asked, the officers at the Knoxville and Nebraska station referred all questions to Semone Roth, Peoria police spokeswoman.
Roth then referred all calls to Kownacki.
The stations in question were located on Sterling Avenue near War Memorial and on Knoxville near Nebraska and a third near Lake Street. A fourth station, on Main Street in East Peoria, was also closed.
Peoria County records show them as all owned by Axis Investments LLC of Louisville, Kentucky.
If the owners of the stations are being investigated for tax violations, it's happened before in Peoria. In 2017, a man who owned four Marathon gas stations in the city was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution.
And in 2014, two brothers pleaded guilty to federal tax allegations, also involving a Fast Stop gas station. And in July, the owner of a popular Peoria restaurant, Thanh Linh near Bradley University, was indicted for tax violations.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Law enforcement cordons off several Peoria-area gas stations
